Chapter 127: The Truth of the World
Looking at Obito Uchiha, who seemed to be in a frenzy, Nagato frowned deeply and said, "Are you insane? Making everyone sleep eternally in a Genjutsu world, what's the difference between that and annihilating all of humanity?"
"The difference is, one dies happily in a dream, their entire life is perfect, any wish is granted, there's no fatigue, no betrayal, and no pain or illness. The other is cruelly killed, or enslaved by the strong, betrayed by loved ones, afflicted by disease..."
Obito Uchiha retorted, "The average lifespan of humans and ninjas is so low. Instead of letting them die in war, experience birth, old age, sickness, and death, and taste all the darkness of human nature, it's better to let them experience long, beautiful times in a Genjutsu world, and finally die peacefully and happily without illness or pain."
Nagato silently looked at Obito Uchiha, then suddenly scoffed, "Heh... escapist."
"Don't you want to see Yahiko again?" Obito Uchiha shouted as if he had been insulted.
"Of course I do."
Nagato gazed into the dark Kamui dimension, as if he could see the three orphans in their childhood and adulthood, and said softly, "In these years, I've dreamt of Yahiko countless nights. Dreaming that he didn't die, dreaming of how he changed this world, even dreaming of him realizing his ideal, eliminating war, bringing permanent peace to the ninja world, and being called a savior."
"But when I wake up, all of it disappears."
The purple Rinnegan looked down at Obito Uchiha on the ground, and Nagato said faintly, "Even an eternal dream can't change one fact, and that is... the Yahiko in the dream is false!"
"But... the will and ideals Yahiko left behind are real."
Nagato raised his hand and clenched his fist, his expression firm. "Mutual understanding cannot achieve peace, so I will inherit Yahiko's original ideal and, with absolute power, eliminate the endless wars and make everyone live in peace under high pressure."
"And what about when you die?" Obito Uchiha said eerily, "Even the God of Shinobi couldn't achieve immortality. How can you? Once you die, the ninja world will still reignite the flames of war like the First Great Ninja War."
"When I die, I will leave the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to all the nations, allowing them to use this power to check each other," Nagato said. "As long as all nations can use the power of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, no nation will dare to act rashly."
"Hmph, whatever."
Obito Uchiha snorted coldly, "The Uchiha clan's mission is to correctly guide the wielder of the Rinnegan. If your method is wrong, then the will of the Sage of the Six Paths residing within you will naturally choose the next inheritor. At that time, it will prove that the method on the stone tablet is correct."
Nagato was skeptical and asked, "Where is the Uchiha clan's stone tablet?"
"It's underground in Konoha. You can't see it," Obito Uchiha replied with a sneer, as if knowing what he was thinking.
"Those are characters that only the wielder of the Mangekyo Sharingan can decipher. It's the inheritance and duty of the divine messengers. You, the wielder of the Rinnegan, must go through a process of becoming stronger from weakness and experiencing all aspects of life. You can't evolve like the wielder of the Tenseigan."
"Similarly, the Tenseigan, which can evolve, won't have the ability to summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. It's destined not to become the Jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails. Those eyes of his are the eyes of a loser!"
Nagato remained silent.
After a long while, he finally said slowly, "Let's go out."
Hearing this, Obito Uchiha secretly breathed a sigh of relief again.
Regardless of whether Nagato believed him or not, the crisis for him and Black and White Zetsu had passed, and they could continue to stay in Akatsuki in the future.
However, to avoid Nagato's trickery, Obito Uchiha was ready to activate Izanagi when he got close.
But fortunately, Nagato didn't take the opportunity to use the Human Path to ambush him but left the Kamui dimension with him.
Even after returning to the forest outside, Nagato still didn't break ties but gathered the four Pain bodies who had come with him.
"Leader."
Black and White Zetsu's figure emerged from the ground, his attitude towards Nagato still respectful.
During this time, he didn't even glance at Obito Uchiha.
"Go back. You maintain the status quo."
After leaving these words, Nagato and the four Pain bodies disappeared in a puff of white smoke with a simultaneous "poof."
They had been summoned away by the Reverse Summoning Technique.
Releasing his powerful senses and confirming that Nagato had indeed left, Black Zetsu finally asked in a deep voice, "Obito, what did you say to Nagato?"
"Anyway, I didn't expose his existence. It won't affect the plan," Obito Uchiha left these words behind and disappeared using Kamui.
"Can his words be trusted?" White Zetsu asked.
"It doesn't matter anymore. That guy was unreliable from the start."
...
"Thank you very much this time, Izayoi-kun."
On the other side, Orochimaru was expressing his gratitude to Izayoi.
"It was nothing," Izayoi smiled. "But Orochimaru-kakka, you might have to change bases again."
"It doesn't matter. The important things are all in the scrolls. It's just a pity about the equipment; it will take a lot of money and time to acquire them," Orochimaru said with an indifferent smile.
"That black and white guy has the ability to merge with the earth and vegetation. If my Wood Release hadn't happened to counter him, Orochimaru-kakka, you would have been in great danger this time,"
Izayoi first confessed that he had been monitoring Orochimaru, then instructed, "Sasuke is preparing to learn Sage Art. You will live in Ryuchi Cave with Sasuke during this time. When Sasuke learns the Sage Art of Ryuchi Cave, I will give you the Death God Mask, so you will have the power to protect yourself."
Orochimaru's eyes instantly became fiery, and he subconsciously licked his lips, smiling, "So soon I have the qualifications to learn Sage Art? It seems the compatibility between Hashirama's cells and Sasuke-kun is even higher than imagined."
"Orochimaru-kakka, Sasuke is my second-in-command whom I've cultivated for many years. He is Konoha's future 'Uchiha Madara'," Izayoi reminded eerily, warning, "Don't cause me any trouble, or even if I greatly appreciate you, I will erase you and Mitarashi Anko from the village."
Hearing this, Orochimaru's pupils instantly constricted, his eyes looking at Izayoi with shock.
Then, his smile became stiff, and his voice trembled slightly as he said, "Izayoi-kun, how did you know?"
"In this world, there is no perfect ninjutsu. No matter what kind of ninjutsu it is, there will be weaknesses, just like the elemental counters of the Five Elemental Ninjutsu," Izayoi said calmly, without concealing his contempt.
"When you were a child, you thought adults were invincible beings. When you became a Genin, you found those Jonin and the Five Kage to be so unattainable. But when your strength reaches a level that ordinary people and geniuses can hardly reach, you will find that their methods and strength are actually so childish and weak."
Izayoi pointed to his heart, looking at the cold-sweating Orochimaru, and said without concealment, "The First Hokage's wife, because she was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, her Kagura Shingan had the ability to sense good and evil. And I, by simply cultivating the Spirit Transformation Technique, have the ability to sense the aura of souls."
"Your current soul state and the soul fragments hidden within the curse mark are completely exposed in front of my Mind's Eye."
"So, don't let down my expectations of you."
After speaking, Izayoi's body rapidly expanded, transforming into a towering tree in place.
This was also a Wood Clone.
"Orochimaru-sama, are you alright?"
Kabuto Yakushi supported Orochimaru, his own body also drenched in cold sweat.
Although Izayoi was just a Wood Clone, the shock he had just delivered to them surpassed that of Nagato and Obito Uchiha earlier.
"Nagato, Otsutsuki Toneri, Izayoi, Obito Uchiha... Uzumaki clan, Otsutsuki clan, Senju clan, Uchiha clan... Rinnegan, Tenseigan, Wood Release, Mangekyo Sharingan... Hashirama Senju, Uchiha Madara, Nagato, Otsutsuki Toneri, Izayoi, super-standard combat power..."
Orochimaru ignored Kabuto, instead looking at the towering tree in front of him, grasping the inspiration in his mind and beginning to murmur, "What is the connection between these four ninja clans and four bloodlines? Why can only people from these four ninja clans possess super-standard combat power that even the Five Kage can't reach? Why can the Sharingan and Hashirama's cells balance each other? What is the relationship between the Senju, Uchiha, Uzumaki, and the Sage of the Six Paths? And are the Otsutsuki enemies or allies of the Sage of the Six Paths?"
Suddenly, a white beam of light flashed through Orochimaru's mind, and his eyes instantly widened to their maximum.
"The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, the Tailed Beast Plan!"
Orochimaru's body suddenly trembled with excitement.
"Orochimaru-sama, are you alright?" Kabuto Yakushi asked again with a worried expression.
"I'm fine, I'm very well now..." Orochimaru revealed his familiar sinister smile, looking up at the towering tree in front of him and saying, "Kabuto, the storm of the new era is coming. This is a lucky and unlucky era. We will know the truth of the world, but only with the despair of being powerless."
"Because, we are all just... mortals."
...
After dealing with Orochimaru's affairs, Izayoi kicked Sasuke Uchiha out of the house, telling him to go to Ryuchi Cave to meet up with Orochimaru himself.
Then Izayoi and Hinata also ended their vacation and began helping Shino Aburame complete missions and accumulate achievements.
Using his creditor status, Izayoi had already learned in advance that the Chunin Exams for the first half of the year would be in March.
This was a very special month.
Students from the first to fifth grades of the ninja academy would undergo annual assessments this month to select the top student representing each grade.
Sixth-grade students would face their graduation exams.
Unexpectedly, there were also Chunin Exams not open to the public this month.
Since they also needed to accumulate achievements for themselves and Hinata to prepare for the Jonin Exams this year, Team Eight no longer took C-rank missions but started with B-rank missions.
Moreover, Izayoi no longer accepted escort missions.
Because these types of missions were too tiring.
Unless they were escorting locals from the Land of Fire, escorting people from other countries back and forth would take at least one or two weeks.
If they encountered clients from more remote places, half a month would be wasted just like that.
Thus, Izayoi specifically took on assassination and intelligence missions.
Izayoi had originally wanted to see if there were any war-related missions.
However, the sensation caused by Nagato and Otsutsuki Toneri hadn't subsided yet.
Those weaker countries tacitly sent people to contact the daimyo of the Land of Rain, trying to seek protection. No small country dared to cause trouble.
The five great nations also didn't instigate their subordinates to openly or secretly compete with other great nations.
They were all afraid of attracting Otsutsuki Toneri's attention and becoming pawns for him to use against Akatsuki.
The current ninja world had fallen into an eerie peace.
Therefore, the number of assassination mission requests suddenly skyrocketed.
If they couldn't fight openly, they would do it secretly.
In one month, Team Eight completed 13 B-rank missions, an astonishing efficiency.
Such achievements were even more shocking among Genin. Shino Aburame's achievement record was already at the level of a great demon king.
Even Izayoi and Hinata only needed to complete a few more A-rank missions to qualify for the Jonin Exams.
Tsunade felt deeply gratified, as if she saw the dawn of her retirement.
This month, the impact of the peak showdown between Nagato and Otsutsuki Toneri finally subsided.
Whether ordinary people or ninjas, they all had to live.
With the five great nations pushing from behind the scenes, Akatsuki had been tied to Amegakure and labeled with a positive image.
Due to Nagato's overwhelmingly powerful strength, no one dared to ask the daimyo of the Land of Rain to put pressure on Nagato or negotiate, asking Nagato to hand over their country's rogue ninjas, all fearing that their actions would break this balance.
Seeing that the five great nations didn't join forces to deal with Akatsuki, many shrewd clients specifically ran to Amegakure to make requests.
After all, the mission prices in this small ninja village were cheap, and there was a large amount of high-end combat power, with the leader being the new era's God of Shinobi.
In the black market, Akatsuki, which gathered a large number of S-rank rogue ninjas, was the strongest mercenary organization.
Whether it was the common people of the Land of Rain, the villagers of Amegakure, or the members of Akatsuki, they all found that life had become better.
They all knew that this was brought about by Nagato.
And Nagato knew that this was just the great nations cutting off a little bit of their own flesh, offering benefits to confuse him.
If he had no ideals and only wanted to occupy a corner of the world, these benefits would indeed be very satisfying.
However, Nagato didn't have such selfish thoughts. What he wanted was to bring peace to the entire world.
Now that there were more requests, it was just helping him raise funds.
Once the Three-Tails was resurrected, Akatsuki would begin to act.
So, it was still unknown who was confusing whom.
Just like that, time came to March of Konoha Year 61.
Just as the Chunin Exams for the first half of the year in Konoha were about to arrive.
The ninja world, which had been peaceful for two months, suddenly stirred again, and a major event that attracted the attention of various countries occurred.
(End of this chapter)
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